New European data indicate this summer’s loss of ice cover matches the 2007 record

By Janet Raloff, 19:15 PM October 6, 2011

On October 4, the National Snow and Ice Data Center posted information on its website indicating that the summer melt of sea ice in the Arctic, this year, approached — but did not quite match — a record set four years ago. A team of European scientists now concludes NSIDC got it wrong. This year's loss was every bit as big.